Lancer's Exit and a Surprise / Madman (3K Chapter; One More Chapter Owed)

"My lord, I have frightened you."

Your bento box is about to arrive?

(Hands in hands, runs!)

Chapter 107. Lancer's Departure and the Unexpected Incident

He lowered his noble head as he looked at the knight kneeling before his Master.

Kayneth stretched out his only remaining left hand, trembling as he tried to touch the Servant in front of him, but in the end, it fell limply to his side.

"My lord, I apologize, I have misspoke again."

His internal organs seemed to have been shattered, and blood began to seep from Diarmuid's mouth, but the knight was still troubled by the promise he had failed to keep.

Kayneth closed his eyes, not wanting the knight to see his slightly reddened eyes.

Kayneth had always been suspicious and wary of Diarmuid's attitude, unable to understand it, and therefore unable to believe it, which only made his mind more distorted.

This terrifying night made Kayneth feel as if he had died once. But precisely because of this, Kayneth felt that he had never seen the Servant before him so clearly again.

Wherever his loyalty came from, it was clearly a pure, almost transparent emotion.

This was something he had never been able to accept before; it was astonishing that such a belief, which he found completely incomprehensible and even absurd, actually existed in this world.

But Kayneth had never been more certain than at this moment—

This must be loyalty;

It was his own knight who bestowed upon him the noblest of emotions;

And he truly possessed this seemingly illogical "treasure".

--Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald can no longer escape this fact.

But it's actually understood in such a cruel way...

"Sorry..."

This word, which Kayneth had never encountered before, was now spoken from his lips and entered the knight's ears with heartfelt sincerity.

"No, no apology is needed, my lord!"

But Diarmuid's violent reaction made Kayneth instinctively reach out his left hand to support the knight's swaying body.

But the moment Kayneth touched the knight, he realized that this battered body... had almost no weight at all.

"You are my lord, and I am your knight. I have no regrets in swearing allegiance to you."

Although the voice was soft, the knight's tone carried undeniable determination.

"Heh--"

Regret and self-blame surged through Kayneth's heart once more; if only he had discovered the Knight's feelings sooner.

Unfortunately, the world's trajectory doesn't allow for such a "what if" choice.

More and more spiritual particles dissipated from Diarmuid's body, and the knight's body gradually became transparent.

"It is my regret that I can no longer follow you, but as a knight... I sincerely wish you happiness and good health in the future."

"Wait..."

Anxiety flickered in Kayneth's eyes. Magic surged within him, urging the remaining power to rush frantically towards the knight in his arms, desperate to stop his dissipation, even for a second...

However, Kayneth's efforts had no effect whatsoever.

The rate at which spiritual energy was being lost was accelerating, and Diarmuid's body, as the vessel remaining in the mortal world, had reached its limit.

Diarmuid's eyes closed without regret as his figure faded into the distance. But the knight's final farewell still echoed in Kayneth's ears:

"Knight Diarmuid O'Dina. Farewell, my lord."

The knight who says this must have been redeemed.

Watching the knight transform into a golden speck of light and dissipate into the smoke, Kayneth suddenly felt a pang of sadness and thought:

If fate played a cruel trick on Diarmuid, leading him to encounter himself, then wasn't the one who summoned Diarmuid also a clown dancing in the hands of fate?

Kayneth suddenly felt utterly exhausted. For this game in the Far East, he had come to understand too much, and had also lost too much...

All he can do now is pray that this nightmarish journey will end as soon as possible.

"Tsk--"

Having witnessed Lancer and his Master's dramatic "reconciliation," Gilgamesh spat disdainfully. Looking at the dejected Kayneth, he couldn't muster the slightest interest.

But--

Clearly, there was more than one figure on the battlefield who could pique the King of Heroes's interest. His crimson eyes turned to the imposing figure standing at the end of the ditch in the distance.

Saber, who also witnessed the entire event, seemed still immersed in the grief of losing Lancer, a rival who could be considered a confidant.

"Lancer, your noble spirit is no less than that of any knight I know."

As Saber was observing a moment of silence, she suddenly felt a malevolent gaze. Looking up, she saw a golden figure in the distance:

"Archer..."

Saber held her breath, watching Gilgamesh in the distance, the most troublesome enemy she faced in this Holy Grail War. She had already anticipated that her opponent would be either Rider or Archer.

However—judging from Archer's calm and abundant magical energy, this golden Servant was completely unharmed in the previous battle with Rider. Not just unharmed, but practically without any loss of energy.

"Saber, why are you making that face?"

Seeing Saber standing ready, Archer feigned surprise and said:

"If you wish, I can transfer my treasure to you at any time."

Saber remained silent in the face of Gilgamesh's tempting offer. Although it was unfair to judge this golden-haired Heroic Spirit based on only a few interactions with him, his excessively wicked personality was simply unpleasant to be around.

However, this time, Saber's assessment was clearly too lenient; Archer's behavior was simply not worthy of being described as "evil"!

A wicked smile curled at the corner of the golden-haired Heroic Spirit's lips:

"If you throw away your sword, become my wife."

"What... what exactly do you want?!"

In this scene and under these circumstances, Archer's words caught Saber completely off guard. So unexpectedly, she froze on the spot.

Not only Saber, but also Wang Xiaoming and Medea, who were watching the battle not far away, and Emiya Kiritsugu in the distance, all showed a hint of astonishment in their eyes.

"Has he... gone mad?"

Medea subconsciously turned her head to look at Wang Xiaoming.

"At this point, Goldie is probably out of his mind."

Wang Xiaoming nodded in deep agreement with Medea's assessment.

"So, what should we do next?"

Seeing the intense atmosphere on the battlefield, Medea asked Wang Xiaoming a question.

"Let's watch one more show..."

Wang Xiaoming shrugged. Given the current situation, waiting and seeing was the best option.

Not to mention--

Now that Lancer has left the stage and the curse attached to Saber's left hand has been broken, it's not impossible to defeat Archer.

However, things didn't go as smoothly as Wang Xiaoming had imagined. Just as Saber and Archer were about to clash, Medea turned to look at Wang Xiaoming again, her eyes filled with undisguised surprise and panic.

"What's wrong?"

Looking at Medea in this state, Wang Xiaoming felt a bad premonition.

Next--

"The barrier around our base... has been breached."

You participated in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, where you won through your own strength, achieving a glorious victory. Afterward, you returned to the Clock Tower, where you achieved remarkable results worthy of your achievements. Moreover, you successfully married Sola, and the two of you built a family together.

... Just kidding.

(Reposted from a prominent user on Zhihu)

Chapter 108. The Madman (3K chapters, one more chapter owed)

"Our base's barrier... has been destroyed?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Seeing Medea's shocked expression, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help but be taken aback. Both Wang Xiaoming and Medea had specifically taken care of the barrier set up by the Matou House.

That fortress-like barrier should be so strong that no one, except for the Servant participated in the battle, could easily destroy it without alerting Medea.

And now all three remaining Servant are present, even the Master...

Etc!!!

Wang Xiaoming scanned the entire battlefield, but as expected, he couldn't find the figure from his mind. His brows furrowed.

"Could it be... Kirei Kotomine?"

"No, it wasn't him. I'm certain that the one who destroyed the barrier wasn't that person from the Holy Church..."

However, to Wang Xiaoming's surprise, Medea rejected his hypothesis less than a second after he voiced it.

"Why?" Wang Xiaoming asked urgently, seeing Medea's resolute expression.

However, Wang Xiaoming received an unbelievable answer from Medea:

"Because that barrier wasn't broken by Magecraft, nor was it destroyed by violence, but rather... it was 'killed'."

"?!?!"

Jingle--

The sudden ringing of a cell phone abruptly broke the slightly awkward atmosphere between the two.

It's me.

When Wang Xiaoming answered the phone, he heard Emiya Kiritsugu's voice and the sound of wind rushing past. Judging from his appearance, he should be on a vehicle.

Before Wang Xiaoming could answer, he continued:

"I'll handle this. You stay here and make sure nothing else goes wrong!"

After I finished speaking, the other end of the phone hung up immediately.

Wang Xiaoming was left speechless and bitterly smiling as he listened to the busy signal; his earlier thought of rushing back was forcibly extinguished.

What I should do now is...

Wang Xiaoming and Medea simultaneously turned their gazes to the two Servant who were fighting on the battlefield.

"Ha, ha, ha ha ha!!!"

A maniacal laugh echoed from the front gate of the Matou House. A man holding a dagger stared at the imposing building, his eyes filled with a fanatical adoration.

"Indeed, 'God' is omnipotent!"

Half an hour ago --

Fuyuki City at night,

On the deserted street, a taxi was moving slowly. The driver looked around using the streetlights on both sides of the street, hoping to pick up a few pedestrians so he could get some business for the night.

"Um?"